V7Goose

I am sorry, but I cannot remember the details about the HF leakdown tester. I bought one about three years ago and tested it before returning it. Read the user reviews on the HF site for some of the problems. I do seem to remember that the instructions were wrong and the gauge does NOT read the pressure being applied to the cylinder, but only the source pressure. Careful evaluation of general leakdown test instructions from the internet along with comparison with the HF tool and some of the user comments should help you identify the problems and what you need to do to get a useable test. I do not trust using a laser temp gauge for head readings - I have tried it and find that even minute changes in the pointing spots can result in big variations of the temp reading. Goose

Based on your detailed response, I think a leakdown test is very important now. It does require a special tool, but they are not terribly expensive. You can often borrow one free at the major chain auto parts stores such as AutoZone or O'Riley. You can get a really cheap one at Harbor Freight that will technically work, but has some big problems (that means it will give you useable results if you understand what is wrong with it). I do not recommend it at all. If you want to buy one, check out Jegs.com. A proper leakdown test will both confirm the compression test results and pinpoint exactly where the compression is leaking if there is a problem - no reason to pull a head just to see if a valve might be leaking. With the miles on your bike, any valve problem is very unlikely. It is possible one or more valves could be a bit tight, but highly unlikely they would be tight enough to not fully close, and even if they ARE that tight, it is extraordinarily unlikely that a valve could be burnt by now. By the way, with most modern engines, the valves do get tighter with wear, not looser. This is because there is very limited wear in the OHV parts, but the valves do slowly erode into the heads. Goose

I am not real familiar with the pre-1999 bikes (I like to refer to those as gen 1.5, since the carbs and engines are somewhat different than the "true" 2nd gens starting with the RSV in 1999), but I'll give you some thoughts based on general mechanics and my knowledge of the RSV. I have read your thread from July about your low fuel mileage and low compression as well as this one. Many members have already given you some good points and ideas, particularly RSTDdog above, and I will be repeating a number of them. First of all, your compression is not THAT low, assuming the specs on your engine are actually the same as for the 99 RSV engine. As you have noted, the std is 216, with a minimum of 185. Was your engine warm when you did the test? It does not have to be at full operating temp, but it should be at least hot to the touch - enough that you need to be careful or wear gloves when taking out the plugs. Other points that are important for a good compression reading: engine warm all plugs out air filter out wide open throttle (better to remove carbs with CV type carbs) fully charged battery The reason I suggest to remove the carbs is simply that the slides in a constant velocity design do not open from the throttle, but from the pressure difference on the diaphragms caused by the air flow in a running engine - the throttle just opens the butterfly plate between the carb and the engine. And if you remove the carbs, you obviously do not have to worry about the WOT or air filter. As for the results of your compression test, if you do not get a big jump from adding the oil to the cylinder, you do NOT have a ring problem - neither worn nor stuck from carbon. Secondly, if the compression is low instead of high, you do NOT have a carbon build-up problem. Third, if all four cylinders are similar in compression, you do NOT have a valve problem. So bottom line is that I do not think you have a compression problem at all. But I'd still do a leak-down test as a final check. The rest of your problems clearly sound fuel or ignition related to me. Either (or both together) could cause your symptoms, but I'd strongly suspect fuel first. And "fuel" here includes the correct fuel mixture, not just fuel supply, so you need to do a thorough check for vacuum leaks as well as a complete carb inspection/cleaning. Understand that adding any type of cleaner to the gas can ONLY help if the problem is a PARTIALLY blocked passage in the carb; the only part of a carburetor that is submerged in fuel is the float valve and the bottom of the float bowl. All of the jets and other passages in the carb only have fuel in them when a mist is being sucked out of the float bowl by the air currents caused by the engine vacuum; therefore, if any jet or passage is completely closed from deposits, it can never be cleaned by the gas/cleaner that cannot touch it. The RSV carbs are very easy to properly clean, but I believe yours are somewhat different internally, so I cannot give you detailed advice other than you need to insure you have the right specs for them instead of the '99 and later bikes. Verify you have the correct jets in all locations (I seem to recall that they are all the same in yours instead of the three different sizes in the RSV, but I am not sure). To clean the jets, soak them in some cleaner, then use compressed air - NEVER poke ANYTHING through them. When you look through a clean jet towards a bright light, you can easily tell the difference between a perfect circle of light and a partly occluded jet that may let light through but won't look like a clean circle. Dismantle all parts of the carb that you can and inspect each gasket and o-ring. If you can find the correct parts breakdown for your carbs, this will help a lot to verify all the parts you should be finding. Clean all the air passages in the carb body by using the red nozzle on a can of spray cleaner to force the cleaner through each hole you find. If you have any doubt about how clean they are, repeat this spray cleaning about three times, letting the carb sit for about half hour in between for the cleaner to soften any deposits. Use compressed air to blow out any remaining cleaner and crud from each passage before putting it all back together. Do not forget to verify the enriching plungers ("choke") are all moving smoothly and in perfect sync with each other, and that they are completely in when the choke is off. Problems here are quite common, and your bike does sound like it is running rich as well as having problems with the pilot circuits. When the carbs are back on the bike, make CERTAIN that any vent lines are properly attached, not kinked, and routed as they were from the factory. The vents on a CV carb are CRITICAL for proper operation, as they provide the difference in atmospheric pressure on the opposite side of the diaphragm that causes it to open in response to the engine's attempt to draw more air. If they hoses are improperly routed but not kinked, the bike may run fine at idle but have problems when riding at speed due to the air flow by the hoses. Now you are ready to try and properly adjust the carbs. You will need vacuum gauges and a tach to do do this. The first step is to set the mixture screws, and it makes no difference if the carbs are in sync or not. Start by setting all mixture screws about 3 1/2 turns out. With the engine fully warmed up, set the idle speed at 1,000 using the throttle stop screw. Now go to the first carb and begin by slowly turning the mixture screw IN while monitoring the RPM - you should immediately begin noticing a drop is revs - this proves both that the pilot circuit in that carb is working properly AND the cylinder is firing. If turning the mixture screw in does not cause the RPM to drop, then you can go no further until you find/fix the problem with either the carburetor or the ignition. If turning the screw in does cause a drop in revs, simply begin slowly turning the mixture screw OUT until the engine speed quits increasing, then turn it back in about 1/2 turn. This will be a very good approximation of the correct setting if you had a CO gauge. Now repeat that whole process for the other three cylinders, resetting the idle speed to 1,000 as necessary after each carb is set. Once the mixture screws are set on all four carbs, you want to verify they are all in proper sync, then note the vacuum reading at idle. On the RSV this should be about 10" Hg - the actual spec is 280mm or 11", but I rarely see an engine that pulls that high. But anything LESS than 10" indicates some ongoing problem with either the compression or the carburetor. The most common cause of low vacuum at idle is low fuel through the pilot circuits so that the idle screw has to be used to offset that by forcing the slides to stay open some and allow a bit of fuel to be sucked through the main jets (the more the slides are open at any specific RPM, the lower the vacuum will be due to less restriction to air flow). The same problem can be caused by one or more cylinders not firing well at idle so that the throttle stop needs to be cranked up to allow the other cylinders to pick up the load - the effect is the same - slides open more at 1,000 RPM causing lower vacuum readings. And that is about it for setting things up at idle. If the carbs are set right and all cylinders are firing, any further problem with rough idle or popping is going to be either a problem with low back pressure in the pipes (commonly caused by anyone who decides to just start drilling holes so they can offend everybody around them with unwanted noise), and air leak in the exhaust headers or vacuum leaks in the intake. If there are no other problems at idle, but you still have complaints about rideability or fuel mileage, then that is a whole different discussion. But we won't even try to go there until this first part is good. Good luck, and let me know if there is anything else you think I can help with or clarify. Goose

Rick, I do not know what specifically Ponch used, but my original guge writeup with the exact parts is here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19119 (link tested and works for me) Goose

I would not have expected using a leaf blower (or even an air compressor hose) to have caused any problems at all. Based just on your post, I don't think I have any definitive answer for you, but I'll give you some general thoughts. First of all, use of any gas over 87 pump octane is nothing more than a complete waste of money for this engine. It is designed to run on 87, and anything higher provides ABSOLUTELY ZERO BENEFIT. But buying ANY gas without alcohol adulterant is better that the crud most of us have to buy with that nasty stuff in there. If you can still get pure gas, keep buying it. It is possible that somehow the forced air might have gotten water up in the plug on the ignitor box - unlikely, but might be worth while getting to it and making sure the contacts are dry and corrosion free. Also remove your air filters and make sure you didn't accidentally blow some stuff into the box openings. You mention popping and the smell of gas - neither of those things is right, and they clearly show something is significantly wrong with your combustion. The 2nd gen bikes in stock trim will NEVER pop at idle (and only very very rarely at any other time) unless something is wrong with the bike that needs to be fixed. Typically popping in the exhaust comes from too much unburned fuel, so that fits with your saying you smell gas. Start by inspecting the two vacuum lines and the two rubber caps on the vacuum ports on the intake boots. Make sure there are no cuts in the hoses and replace those cracked caps if they are more than two years old. Next, make sure that all the plug caps are properly attached toe the plugs. If they all seem OK, then I'd unscrew each one from the wire and ohm them out - anything over 10K is a problem. When all is back together and you are ready to test it, be prepared to do the finger touch on the header pipes to look for a jug not heating up as fast as the other. You only have about 30 seconds after you start the bike for this test, so do not waste time. As soon as it starts running, reach in UNDER the header pipe to touch the inner pipe (NOT the chrome heat shield). Within 10 or 20 seconds each one of the pipes should be very hot - after 30 seconds or so, they will be hot enough to burn your finger with even a very brief touch. If any pipe is less hot than the others, you have found the cylinder that is not burning correctly. Let us know what you find and we'll see where we need to go next. Goose

I have no idea what kind of bike you have, but if it is a 2nd gen, you will find the heat is not specifically located to just one side. It can certainly seem like that at times, but even a slight cross breeze while riding will generally push the heated air from the radiator off to the leeward side. Turn around and the heat is felt on the opposite foot/leg. Of course, nothing about that helps your complaint - the fact is, this bike does put out a lot of heat. The lower crash bar wind deflectors can help, but often not as you think. I ran a number of tests with a thermometer strapped to my lower legs and the air deflectors in different positions; if opened more than about 1/2" while riding at highway speeds, they actually draw the heated air out from behind the radiator and onto your leg instead of just having it blow back along the engine and out BEHIND your legs. Conversely, when riding in COLD weather, having the deflectors open will actually REDUCE the cold air turbulence on the bottom of your arms. This is not noticeable unless you find yourself unexpectedly riding with only a light jacket in cold weather. As for the solution to the heat problem on your legs, the best advice I have is leather chaps. Personally, I NEVER ride without either leather pants or leather chaps, and in the summer, the extra layer of leather that the chaps provide over my jeans actually make riding much cooler! This comes from two things - first, the outside layer of leather acts as an insulator against that engine heat (that's why I actually notice the effects of a slight cross-wind on my feet instead of my legs - boots only have one layer of leather, and it fits tight against the skin). Secondly, when I put my feet up on the highway pegs, a strong flow of air is channeled up my leg between the chaps and my jeans, cooling my legs. In the winter, leather over pants are better because the closed top prevents this flow of air up the legs.

That is what air horns are for - to make the stupid idiots drop the damn phones. Goose

Most of your symptoms are indicative of a bad ground connection for the battery. Pull the cable off and scrape the connection on BOTH the cable and battery post with a knife blade. ALSO do this with the other end of the cable where it attaches to the engine. The hard starting when hot is most likely a problem with the carbs (and made worse by low cranking voltage from the bad ground). Sounds like it is running rich. With the age of the bike, I'd pretty much bet some of the idle jets are gummed up and that is being compensated for by cranking up the idle stop screw. I'd start by running SeaFoam in several tanks of gas to try and clean up the carbs a bit, but then you are going to need to start checking the carb mixture adjustments to verify the pilot circuits are working properly. That is probably more than a 'new' mechanic is ready to tackle without some assistance, so start looking for a good shop or local help. Goose (If you wanna ride it out here to New Mexico I'd be happy to help!)

There is a sticky post on this subject in the 2nd Gen Tech Talk forum. Goose

If the oil caused part of the problem, just changing it will not instantly improve anything - the slippery stuff is still between the clutch discs and will take some time to work its way out. But more importantly, the stock clutch in this big heavy bike is a KNOWN weakness, so I'd bet it is most of your problem. You said the bike has under 20,000 miles, and that is pretty early for the clutch to start slipping, especially in all gears (usually only noticed in 4th and 5th), so that does tend to suggest an oil related cause too. You MAY need to replace the friction discs. More than likely, however, all you need is the heavy duty spring and the full disc to replace the weenie half-disc and wave spring at the bottom of the stack. That is all I did with mine (PCW spring and full disc) when it started slipping around 35,000, and with over 100,000 now the original stock clutch discs are still just fine. I have never used SeaFoam in the oil, but it is labeled for that. In your case, because of the low miles, I would definitely try it. I would just follow the directions on the can and only do it one time. My oil preference is Shell Rotella (non-synthetic). It is a great oil and specifically labeled for wet clutch use (JASO rated). Goose

Actually, this is pretty much BUNK. This type of charging system does absolutely nothing to regulate the output of the stator- since it uses permanent magnets, that would be impossible. The stator is ALWAYS putting out 100% for whatever RPM the engine is running (faster = more voltage). The regulated voltage is controlled by the amount of resistance in the circuit (which controls the current flow), and the regulator part of the RR unit does nothing more than dump all excessive current beyond the load required by battery and electrical components to ground. So if the batery needs a charge and you are running extra lights, virtually all available current gets passed through the RR to the charging system, but once the load drops, the current is just shunted to ground instead of overcharging the battery. Of course there will be some internal resistance in that shunt to ground that keeps the path from being a direct short, so a fault there could have an impact on the system. But it sounds like he is implying that the regulator is supposed to control how much output the stator produces, and that just is not the case here like it is with an alternator. Goose

You are way over due for the valve check - schedule calls for every 27,000 miles. If you have the cover off for ANY reason, it makes no sense not to check them at that time, even if they are not due. Getting the covers off is just too big a job to not take advantage of the situation. Goose

I always recommend replacing these gaskets when doing the valve check simply because it is such a huge job to get the covers off if they start leaking! It is just not worth taking the chance with old gaskets, even if they still seem soft and pliable. Using any kind of a thick sealer with old gaskets here will actually make a leak much more likely. These gaskets are thick soft rubber, and the cover bolts use very LOW torque, so they do not distort much. That is another reason why it is critical that the gaskets be in 'good' condition. While no sealer is needed to prevent leaking, something is definitely needed to hold the gasket in place on the cover when putting it back together. I generally use a small amount of thin contact cement haphazardly spread around the cover. It is not necessary to be equally spread over the entire contact surface, just in enough places to ensure the gasket does not pop loose and roll off the cover anywhere while putting it in place. But you MUST make sure you use a THIN contact cement for this, not something like Goop. Just quckly smear a thin bead inside the groove, place the gasket in place and push solidly all the way around with your fingers to spread the cement out, then pull off the gasket and let it dry for 5-10 minutes before sticking it on for good. Even with the cement holding the gasket, it is still real important to carefully inspect the entire edge of the head/gasket/cover joint with a little flashlight before you put the bolts in, just to make sure the gasket really is in perfect position. Goose

I have no experience at all with the 1st gens, but a surge is typically a sign of being too rich. Choke partly hung up can cause this. Goose

This IS the propblem, as others have pointed out. Even when you think the dots are all aligned, it is still possible to have the pressure plate teeth hang up on the edge of the basket teeth. Just loosen the bolts and wiggle it until it seats properly in the teeth grooves. It is not a big deal, and fairly easy to do on assembly, so do not consider it a big mistake. Goose

I have absolutely no idea what bike you have, but on 2nd gens I have seen small sticks get blown in there, the front AIS vacuum hose move into the way, and various parts from the front of the bikes drop into the fan area. All of these can either just hit the edge of the fan, making noise, or often completely block it from moving. Takes a careful visual inspection with light and inspection mirror to find some of the stuff. Start by simply sticking your fingers in there on a cold engine and turning the fan manually to see if it is hitting something. Goose

You've pretty much nailed it. As far as I know, the only difference is those two vent lines that go to the charcoal canister on the CA fruitcake models. Now I happen to be very big on NOT bypassing any emission controls, especially if the proposed modification does not improve the engine operation in any way, but I'll be honest here - I just cannot imagine how only venting TWO of the four carbs to the charcoal canister actually helps much of anything other than complying with the plethora of idiotic California laws that contributed to driving me out of that horrible place! (Sorry, I just couldn't help editorializing on this one.) Anyway, I would not hesitate to use the normal carbs from all the other 2nd gen bikes and simply not connect the "special" fruitcake vent lines. Goose

The information above is not quite correct. First, DO NOT remove the lower bolt in each fork - this holds the internal shock mechanism in place, and if you remove it, you need a special tool to re-install. To get rid of the oil, just turn the forks upside down after you remove the springs. Do pump them good to force the old oil out of the mechanism. Second - no need to mark the bearing nuts at all - no value in this. See below. The information above is excellent advice ONLY if you have not replaced the bearings (or even removed the steering head completely from the bike). Proper bearing preload allows the forks to fall off to either side under their own weight (with the tire and wheel in place) and hit the stop ONCE - a little bounce back is OK, so long as the fork does not fall back to the stop a second time. When doing this test, be sure to try both sides, as a bit of binding from the cables or wires around the steering head can mask a loose bearing. But if you have removed the steering head (and ESPECIALLY if you have replaced the bearings), the adjustment first needs a high torque setting to properly seat the bearings, then back off the nut and re-set according to the above instructions. The proper torque value is in the shop manual for this procedure, but I do not think it is critical - you are not going to hurt the new bearings by cranking them down good the first time as long as you are not using a large 1/2" ratchet or a cheater bar on your wrench! If the bearings have been replaced, then it is still common to have a bit more "settling" on them withing the first 5,000-10,000 miles, so be sure to re-check the slop on the next couple of oil changes. This is the same reason why just about every 2nd gen I have seen has had loose steering head bearings within the first 10,000 miles. Finally, be sure to properly torque the cap nut on the top of the steering head before you put those handlebars back on - that is the only thing that 'locks' the steering head bearing nuts in place. Goose

I have done the valves on many many 2nd gens, and based on my experience I personally think the 30K schedule is important. Every once in a while I see an engine that needs no shim changes, more often I see something like three or four valves out of adjustment. But the last one I did just a few months ago only had 29,000 miles or so on the engine, but 12 of the 16 valves were out of adjustment! Might have even been 14, but I just cannot remember exactly. Most of them were still real close to the tollerance, but a couple were way off. Some were too tight, some were too loose. Bottom line is you just do not know unless you check them, and I think it is foolish to put your head in the sand and hope for the best. Good luck, Goose

That is just the stock anti-tamper cover fitted over the air mixture screw - one on each carb. Never have seen one fall off on its own before, and they are not particularly easy to reach with the carbs in place, but I suppose it is possible you hit it with something while under there. Nothing to worry about. Those covers are never replaced once popped off for fuel mixture work. If all four are off, then it probably has been laying there for years after someone adjusted the carbs long ago. Goose

It is unlikely that you have bad coils - this is NOT a common failure, and to have two of them go bad at the same time would be very very strange. There is nothing common in the ignition system between any two cylinders on this engine, either left/right side or front/back, so I cannot point out any typical place to start looking for such a failure. If you truly have no spark, I'd start by removing the plug caps and checking their resistance - should be around 10K. When you check the coils with an ohm meter, you cannot follow the procedure in the shop manual; it is wrong. Both the primary and secondary windings share a common lead, and neither is tied to ground. this is shown correctly on the schematic, and the resistance figures from the shop manual are correct if you use the right connections when measuring. If the coils are good and they are not being triggered, that pretty much just leaves the ignitor or any of the wires. Only real test here is to swap in a known good ignitor. Goose

Just about any gauge will work, but I am partial to mechanical gauges instead of electric. There are a number of options for mounting, but on a bike, just about all of them need the smallest gauges you can find (LESS than 2"). Generally just go to the local discount auto parts store and buy the cheapest three-gauge set you can find. If you are going to mount a temp gauge, you really should do the oil pressure too. I prefer a digital volt meter, but the three gauge sets are a good buy even if you throw the volt meter away. See the tech library for intimate details on installing gauges. Goose

You will notice the engine runs a little cooler on the hottest days. When the thermostat stays wide open, the engine can run as low as 195 or even 190 out on the road. By contrast, below 20F outside, the engine will constantly swing between 165 and 200 as the thermostat starts to crack open and then the coolant is cooled faster than it can shut again! Goose

200 - 210 most of the time, should never get over 240. Goose

I put in the PCW spring and full plate way back around 35,000 miles, now with over 100,000, I still have zero slippage, all while still using the original stock clutch plates. Half of those miles daily commuting, and the rest very heavily loaded and touring two-up. I personally do not believe the Barnett pressure plate and coil springs last one bit longer - just cost a lot more. I do believe it is a good product, just does not add any significant value IMHO. Goose